Youth Minister Accused of Molestation
M I D D L E T O N, Mass., July 12 -- — In what one parent is calling “a mother’s worst nightmare,” a trusted church youth minister in a small Massachusetts town is suspected of being a sexual predator.
Christopher Reardon, a married, 28-year-old church youth minister at the St. Agnes Catholic Church in the small town of Middleton, Mass., faces at least 18 charges, including child assault, battery and rape.
Three victims have come forward so far and prosecutors say there could be many, potentially hundreds, more.
At the center of the case is a list seized from a foot locker in the home of Reardon and his wife.The 45-page document has the names of 250 children, all boys, ages five to 14, and details about their genitalia, authorities said.
Investigators say they also found a hidden camera in the ceiling of the church and a videotape showing Reardon engaged in a sex act with an 11-year-old boy.
Reardon has pled not guilty to all charges against him. He remains behind bars while a Grand Jury considers the charges against him.
Frantic Parents Ask for InformationThe discovery sent frantic parents running to police to find out if their children were on the list.
It is “a mother’s worst nightmare,” said one mother whose son came forward to accuse Reardon.“I thought my children were safe with him. When he called up and said ‘hey, I need your son to help me at the church’ — I thought it was great.”
Christopher Reardon had seemed irreproachable. He was a Boy Scout leader, a swim coach at the YMCA, and a friend and neighbor to many of the town’s 6,000 residents.
Police say he lured children with offers to show them pornography on the Internet.
At the St. Agnes Catholic Church where Reardon worked and worshiped, Father John Martin held Mass with a call for forgiveness.
ABCNEWS’ Karla Davis contributed to this report
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